2011 Symposium

This symposium was our first to focus on the use of warm fresh whole blood.  This was arranged as a one day symposium in conjunction with the annual anesthesiology conference in Bergen. The meeting took place downtown Bergen and we had approximately 50 attendees. Both speakers and attendees gave us positive feedback so we decided to arrange a new and broader symposium for 2012.

Tragically, approximately 5 weeks after this symposium the devastating attack by one terrorist occurred in Oslo, Norway where 76 people were brutally killed. Due to this extremely violent act, it is unlikely that any measure could have saved many of those lives. The incidents, however, re- mind us that preparedness for massive civilian injuries must never be overlooked. In similar scenarios, prehospital blood transfusion may certainly be a lifesaving intervention [12]. Preparedness must include availability of blood donors and accessibility of blood components and guidelines for transfusion under extreme circumstances. To read the full article published in Transfusion please click here.

Presentations